New England Patriots former head coach Bill Belichick is everywhere in the news lately, and now he’s reached NBA airwaves.
No, the winner of six Super Bowl rings with the Pats isn’t leaving North Carolina to try his hand at coaching the Charlotte Hornets. But one of the Association’s hottest (and best) head coaches drew a comparison to Belichick on Wednesday.
During an episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast on Wednesday, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons compared Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle to Belichick.
“I can't remember who said this, maybe it was Doc Rivers 'cause he got interviewed for … some Rick Carlisle piece I read in USA Today,” Simmons said.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
“I am sorry I can't remember the writer. And I think it was Doc Rivers who said, ‘What's great about Rick is whatever roster he has, that's the team he'll create around’ … that's like football. That's what I always loved about (New England Patriots head coach Bill) Belichick. It was like he didn't have a system. He was like, ‘Oh, we have these guys, so let's do this.’ And that was just how he figured out whatever they're doing on defense.”
“(Look at) how different that Dallas (Mavericks) Luka/Brunson all-iso team was compared to how (this) Indiana team plays … he just has different styles … I don't know (that) many basketball coaches could just be like, ‘All right, I guess we'll do this.’ I feel like Brad Stevens was kind of wired like that too. But there's not that many who are like, ‘I don't have a system. My system is, who's my best player? I’m gonna create something around them.’”
“And he loves Haliburton, and he loved Haliburton from the second that they got him from (the Sacramento Kings).”
Carlisle is one win away from a return to the NBA Finals. He’s already won a title with the Dallas Mavericks (2011), but bringing home a ring to Indiana would be a far more impressive accomplishment, especially given how overlooked and underrated this Pacers roster has been.
Carlisle, like Belichick, is a rare breed of head coach. And like Belichick’s Brady-era Patriots, Carlisle’s Pacers are seldom boring to watch.
More NBA: Pacers star 'illegitimate son' of Suns glory days, says Steve Nash